12 hidden mechanics Horizon: Zero Dawn never tells you about

Like the lumbering, robotic beasts that patrol its world, conquering Horizon: Zero Dawn is a massive undertaking. And while it does a pretty good job of teaching you the basic controls, it doesn’t fully explain trading, combat, or those little perks that end up being quite handy. So here are the 12 hidden mechanics Horizon never tells you about.

[toggerz]

I have a real tip for this game.

There's no limit to the amount of reward boxes you can carry, so you can use them to hoard extra resources, and only take out its contents if you need them. You can even open them to check what's inside, without taking it.

This saves inventory space, since your resources would otherwise take up slots.

[dj-klassick]

The real tips:

#1: The only requirement for Strike From Above is to be above your enemy, so you can use it in and out of combat. Literally standing on a steep hill, you can jump in the air to activate it. Also it works on rocks and other things that put you in an elevated position.

#2: You can do a Light spear attack mid-air, or cancel it by rolling. You can't do either with Heavy strike.

#3: In combat, breaking the enemy's line of sight (LOS) for 1 second will allow you to return to stealth mode. If your stealth points are high enough you can go around a tree and crouch to lose enemies, even if you're not standing in bushes. In bandit camps you can hide behind/below wood structures or stand above them to go back into stealth. The main reason I use this is to trigger Silent Strike.

#4: You don't have to press triangle to get on your mount. You can just jump on it.

#5: This isn't hidden, but I'm putting it here because you forgot all about it: Dismount Strike. Like Silent Strike its a one shot kill and can be used at anytime.

#6: Listen to Aloy's verbal cues. She has cues for exploring, and some when you approach NPCs, or what armor to put on. Example: when climbing high places, she'll say, "ok...don't look down". If you look down she'll say "Damn it!"

[nyx]

Here’s a good tip

If you die to a powerful enemy, the loading screen will give you tips on how to better combat them

[Ragdll]

This should be called 12 mechanics so obvious that Horizon Zero Dawn never needed to tell us about them

[Jace_DeGough]

"You won't be able to take out a sawtooth or a bellowback with just your bow" - If you can't take out a sawtooth or a bellowback with just your bow in this game you're doing something wrong.

[danielrubenacker]

Remember that pushing the joystick forward will make you move forward. Also don't forget that you need a controller to do so

[ChrisPBacon.]

Tip: enemies can kill you. Avoid this by killing them.

[taggerung]

Heres a real hidden mechanic, you dont need to sneak up on an enemy to override it. You can tie it down with the ripe caster and then override it. Useful for those thunderjaw ovverrides.

[ReggieVdz]

13: you cannot play if you don't turn on your console
You guys will thank me later

[nathanlamberth]

Pro tip- shooting stuff has a chance to kill an enemy. Shoot them again for an increased chance

[NaikoArt]

im sorry but what is this, how is "merchants have cool stuff" a hidden mechanic, how is "rolling" a hidden mechanic, how is "enemies drop a lot of loot" a hidden mechanic? im not even bashing the game, those are literally normal mechanics that every game has.

[spencerblois]

Did you know: if you jump in horizon zero dawn there’s a cool mechanic called gravity they never tell you about which will make you come back down.

[grimrevan]

You guys do know what Hidden Mechanics means, right? Picking up all the loot is a habit, not a mechnic. Who is editing these videos?

[Rssig]

wait the enemies drop loot?
this changes everything.

[TalisButItWasTaken]

You can literally learn most of this stuff before Aloy even becomes and adult

[brettstaten]

This video is ridiculous. They tell you most of these "NEVER TOLD" things in tutorials, loading screen tips, and even Aloy says these sometimes. I mean seriously Come'on. Talk about click bait.
1. "Pay attention to icons" This is a loading screen tip. Probably one of the most frequent ones too. Definitely not hidden.2. "Enemies will drop tons of loot when you take them out" Seriously? From the beginning of the game you're told to loot enemies because they have resources on them. Aloy will make comments about it. The Machine listing in your menu lists all the loot available from every machine you focus scan. There's a skill to get even more loot! SUPER not hidden.3. "Use override to get a friend in battle" It's part of the skills description, and you have a quest to override a machine. Yet again, Aloy will mention this throughout the ENTIRE game. 4. "Buy maps from the first vendor you meet" It's a merchant man. If you choose not to look at their wares than that's on you. Don't say something is "hidden" because you chose not to look. How did you make it to where you are now?5. "Make Lure and Silent Strike your first two skills" Genuinely concerned about your mental state. How is purchasing your two favorite skills first a hidden mechanic of the game? There's nothing hidden about this at all. It's a players choice to pick skills. F**K OFF.6. "Merchants have cool stuff" I seriously hate you. You are despicable. Chloroform yourself.7. "Items marked with Sell for Metal Shards are safe" So if they don't say trade with a merchant, craft items, craft ammo, or even fast travel, and only say Sell for metal shards, they must not be safe to SELL FOR METAL SHARDS. 8."Traps and Rolling" I've got nothing. Two in game mechanics that are very well described to you. Both have skills for them. Both have easily accessible information. Not hidden.9. "Status effects" REALLY?!?!? These are literally everywhere! Loading screen tips, description of the arrows, bombs, wires, and traps all have this information. Focusing on a machine elemental canister will tell you this. It's some weapon tutorial quests to do this. 10. "Merchants have free stuff" So they have free and cool stuff? and it's hidden? OMG! -_- No it's not hidden. Look through a merchants inventory. If you can see this in plain sight it's not a hidden mechanic. 11. "Always be tagging" The Focus will even show you which button to press to tag someone. IT TELLS YOU WHAT TO PRESS EVERYTIME. SO HIDDEN!12. "How to fast travel" I'm going out on a limb here to say maybe use the FAST TRAVEL PACK. That you can craft, or buy. and yet again. LOADING SCREEN TIP!!!I am truly surprised that GamesRadar let you post this. Not to mention that you are a SENIOR PRODUCER. Did you play the game at all before posting this? Perhaps you were just trying to use click bait and Horizon Zero Dawns popularity to get a quick high view video. This kind of crap is why people can't trust that GamesRadar even knows anything about video games in general. Not a single one of these mechanics are hidden. Ungodly disappointed in this video. I was hoping for new and interesting information, but it was just the tutorial and in game messages presented by some dude who hasn't played the game yet. Thanks.

[ChiLLingChiLi]

How about this mechanic the game actually never tells you about: You can sheathe your currently equipped weapon by holding L1 to bring up the weapon wheel and pressing R3.

[PaulGPixelBike]

Coming up next, "Three buttons your mouse probably has".

[CutesyEldritchHorror]

I’m a bit late, but here’s some tips I have that I found helpful in my game:

For rope casters, use as many handling cores as possible. When in tense situations, and need to rope down an enemy real quick, the handling cores will allow you to quickly tie them down.

Thunderjaws have a core/heart covered by a panel on each side. Breaking off these either of these panels will expose the core, and allow for significantly increased damage. This is already obvious. However, tearing off a disc launcher and roping the TJ down, you can have it sit still for a second or two whilst you pummel its core with its own discs, dealing payloads of damage.

Tripcasters don’t break sneak, since the wires are considered traps. Knowing this, you can lay down many blast wires in one spot on a machine’s path and wait patiently until it destroys itself.

These are probably really obvious, but I discovered them on my own, so whatever.

[Queeblo]

Click bait
No hidden mechanics in this video whatsoever